Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-04

less black eyes, that one could almost fancy
were two powerful lenses concentrating the
blaze from brain on fire with some awful
secret.
He appeared never to be at rest except
in the presence of his sister, and it was
many months before | discovered the key
TO her great power over him. She herself
was a well-read woman, but strangely
enough, her reading and study had nearly
all been confined to that most abstruse of
all sciences-the philosophy of thought in
in its relations to the physical system, and
the transmission of intellectual power or
weakness through the intermarriage of
of such subjects, and would handle them
with the skill Of a philosopher, bringing
out the views of her hearers in way that
was wonderful for one Of her seemingly re-
firing nature, while he would listen as if
so entirely absorbed as to almost forget his
own ex .stence
His bearing was naughty, but seemed
rather the result of education, as if the
aristocracy of birth had been instilled into
him from his childhood At times he was
mild in his disposition and careful of Civ
ing offense, at others irritable almost be-
yond endurance, and at such times would
lose his self-control as if under the in
fluence of some power outside of himself
that would overthrow i'll single moment
the results of years of careful training,
and change the studious gentleman into
the reckless boor.
| witnessed but one outburst of this
kind in all my intercourse with the family,
so carefully did the sister shield him in
her devotion, but the speechless agony that
was written in her face on that occasion
shall never forget, nor did | care to add to
it by my vain offers of sympathy, feeling
that hers was sorrow too deep for hui
man sharing.
He had been engaged in study for some
days, and no persuasion could induce him
to lay aside his books even for his usual
walk; the strain had proved too much for
him, and having been led at last by his
sister and myself to accompany us in a
stroll, his mind, which seemed incapable
of but one labor at q time, but in that
concentrated all the power it possessed,
like tense bow rebounded at its sudden
release, seemingly beyond his control, and
overlapping the bounds which but slightly
restrain US all, passed into the territory of
madness. 1t was but temporary agony,
which soon spent its force, but to me from
that moment he was never to be the same
as he had been. The one great secret of
MabePs life lay before me in all its hid
eousneSs, and my woman's nature recoiIed
from 1t as from worse than death, while it
threw over her veil as holy and as sacred
as that which was rent in twain at the
worlds most awful tragedy
There was no violence manifested. but
only the helpless imbecility that is easily
controlled. We led him to the house, and
from that time on | never again saw his
handsome form or heard his scholarly
voice.
was often at the house, but his name
was never mentioned, and from all that
could detect from the attitude and actions
of the family he might have been buried.
As the autumn approached Mabel and
were frequently together, and | noticed
that careworn look never left her face, and
as the short, crisp days gradually became
lonelier, We would often spend few hours
in the great hall waiting for the old
fashioned stage that went numbering past
the front door every afternoon.
On one occasion as we sat thus a sudden
slamming of door attracted my atten-
tiou, and in spite of Mabel's anxiety that
| should not hear, the regular tramp,
tramp, tramp of mans footsteps sounded
on the floor above.
To and fro it passed, never pa,lsing for
an instant, until the rumbling of the
heavy wheels was heard apr oaching on
the hard road then, as the stage passed
tho window ba
low, chuckling laugh came floating down
the stairway.
Mabel turned pale and shuddered but,
as the stage passed around the corner, the
tramping was renewed and kept up its
monotonous beat until the gathering shade
warned me that | must be gone.
And so the days wore on into winter,
and the secret that hung over the old
house was still only suspected, for | alone
knew the shadow that had fallen, and |
was no gossip, even if the sad face and
mournful eyes of my friend had not kept
me silent.
Mabels birthday was near at hand, and
she, for the first time, had urged me to be
present. hesitated, knowing the cir
cumstances that surrounded the family
but was finally prevailed upon to be
present, only for her sake.
1t was one of those deceitful DAYS when
it seems as if summer returns to mock
us, and, as if to make the contrast more
vivid, winter rushes upon the earth in a
whirlwind of fury and drives the dead
leaves in clouds over the buried flowers.
At noon there seemed to be no hint of
bad weather, and the dinner hour passed
quietly and pleasantly. As the afternoon
drew on the wind began to rise, and a
chilly mist blew up from the river laden
with forehodings.
As the time approached for the passing
Of the stage the air grew heavy and rainy,
making it exceedingly unpleasant to leave
the house, and Mabel insisted that |
should remain through the night. An in
detinable fear took possession of me, and |
dreaded to remain but the storm grew
more violent and it seemed like folly to
attempt to breast it, and ! finally con-
scented.
Mabel was unusually cheerful for her,
and seemed to have left oft her usual con
straint and reserve in my presence.
My fears were rapidly vanishing, and |
had seated myself for sight of the stage
as it should pass, when suddenly the great
door in the room above closed with slam
that startled me like a clap of thunder.
Once more that quiet tramp tramp, tramp
sounded in my ears, and as the stage went
rolling past loud laugh greeted it that at
tracted the attention of the passengers,
and | could see pale face at the window
and Mortified look as hand was raised
in the direction of the house Mabel saw
it, also, aud with smothered groan, she
left the room.
| could not follow even had wished,
for the slamming of the door had so uu-
nerved me that | could only sit still and
listen.
No other sound broke the stiffness, save
the hoarse wind as it whistled past, laden
with rain and sleet 1t would seem as if
Mabel would never return, and when she
did she was not the same being who had
left me.
scarcely dared to look at her, so hope
lessly changed. She was composed but a
look of uputterable agony had been CHS
eled upon her face in few short hours. /
cannot describe it, and will not attempt it.
Her mind was evidentally in strain
that could not last. She offered no ex-
PLANTATION of her absence, and asked none,
for after our mutral exnerience of the